Motor actuated hopper car doors



United States Patent [111 3,540,382

[72] Inventor GeorgeB.Dorey 866,676 9/1907 Olden 105/250X Westmount, Quebec, Canada 915. 3/1 09 Seaberg.. 105/251 [21] ApplNo. 698,347 1,151,407 8/1915 Seaberg 105/289 [22] Filed Jan. 16,1968 1,184,036 /1916 Seaberg 105/251 Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,077,841 2/1963 Lunde 105/255 [73] Assignee Continental Transport Appliances Limited 3,339,500 9/1967 Dorey 105/290X Montreal Quebec Canada Primary Examiner-Arthur L. La Point 3 corporal Canada Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran [54] MOTOR ACTUATED HOPPER CAR DOORS 2 claimsz Drawing ABSTRACT: .T he invention relates to a drop bottom [52] US. Cl. 105/240, discharge hopper car having longitudinally extending 105/2 5/290, 105/299 positely swinging doors adapted to be sequentially moved to [51] Int. Cl B6ld 7/18 closed position by axially movable connections The improve- B6ld 7/06, B61d7/28 ment relates to mechanism for sequentially and conjointly Field of Search /240, operating oppositely swinging discharge doors which are inter- 1 255, 304 connected by toggle mechanism involving linkage and radial arm means, said improvement including extending the radial References Cited arm means beyond its pivotal connection with the linkage UNITED STATES PATENTS means with provision for acting on said extension by axially- 693,132 2/1902 Heiden 105/250 o ab power transmitting connecting means.

Patented Nov. 17, 1970 VE N TOIT' MOTOR ACTUATED HOPPER CAR DOORS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The toggle locking mechanism now employed is of the general type shown in my US. Pat. No. 3,339,500 of Sept. 15, 1967 wherein sequential and conjoining door movement is attained by rotary movement of an operating bar in prolongation of the radial arm means for applying a turning moment on said arm means beyond its pivotal connection with the linkage.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The improvement is of importance in the operation of discharge doors incorporated in so-called unit trains wherein opening and closing of doors is effected while the train is in motion. The stopping and starting of heavy trains to effect opening and closing of doors is an expensive and time-consuming operation which can be eliminated by slowing down the train to a speed of approximately 4 miles per hour corresponding to the speed of a walking man when it is practicable for a man to walk alongside the moving train and operate air valves or controls as required.

In carrying out automatic operation it is essential that large discharge openings with steep sloping floors be incorporated in the cars to ensure rapid and complete unloading with provision for forcing the doors open under sustained power throughout the major extent of door opening movement to cope with frozen or highly compacted lading.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The operating mechanism is shown as applied to longitudinally hinged doors arranged in two independently operable sets for discharge of lading between the rails and provides for the use ofinterlocking toggle mechanism for each set of doors including radial arm means and linkage. The radial arm means are extended beyond their pivotal connection with the linkage and axially movable connections act on said extensions to rotate the toggle members by linear movement. The connections are supported adjacent their distal ends by downwardly extending levers and two way acting fluid operated pressure means act on the levers for opening and closing the doors. The invention further resides in the provision of stop means between the axially movable connections and linkage for limiting the angular displacement of the arms and linkage with the doors in open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 FIG. 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the car showing on one side of the longitudinal center line the doors in open position and showing on the right-hand side the doors in closed position.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one of the connections and associated toggle mechanism shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In said drawings l 0-l0 indicates the rails and 11 the wheels associated with the improved railway car. The body of the car includes side sill members 12-12 carrying side walls 13l3 which slope downwardly inwardly at a steep angle and intermediate said side walls a ridge structure 14 of inverted V- shape extends thereby forming spaced hoppers terminating in discharge openings 15. Transversely extending walls 16 are disposed at the ends of the hoppers which carry hinge plates 17 for pivotally supporting as at 18 inner and outer doors indicated at 19 and 20 respectively. The respective inner and outer doors are interconnected by toggle and linkage mechanism including radially extending arm means 21 and linkage 22.

The arm means 21 include spaced walls 23-23 which are nonrotatably mounted on shafts 24 which in turn are rotatably mounted on the doors and pivotally united with the linkages as LII at 25. The opposite end of the linkages 22 are pivotally connected with the doors 19 as at 26. Said toggle mechanisms are adapted to fold in over center toggle locked relation for retaining the doors in closed position.

The doors are generally of scoop shape with end walls as shown at 27 for doors l9 and at 28 for doors 20 and are reinforced on their underside longitudinally and transversely, the door 20 being provided with a boxlike beam 29 adjacent its swinging end and reinforced at its opposite end by a downwardly extending flange 30, and transverse beams 31 extend between the said longitudinal members. The door 19 is reinforced adjacent its swinging end by an angle shaped member 32 and at the opposite end by a downwardly extending flange 33 and transverse beams 34 extend between said longitudinal members.

The doors are movable to closed position with the swinging end of door 20 extending beneath the end of the door 19 and in consequence it is necessary that the doors be moved to close in a given sequence with the overlapping door lagging.

of the radial arms with the linkage and to this end certain of the arms are formed with extensions 35 which are preferably inclined to the main body of the arms in bell crank relation as indicated at 36, it being understood that each door system if fitted with a plurality of radial arms and associated linkages.

Axially movable connections 37 are pivotally connected with the extensions 35 by means of pintles 38 and the said connections 37 extend transversely of the car and adjacent their distal ends are pivotally connected at 39 with levers 40. The levers 40 are preferably pivotally mounted at 41 on brackets 42 carried by the side sill members 12.

Movement of the levers is preferably carried out by double acting fluid operated pressure applying means preferably in the form of air pressure operated cylinders 43 acting on connecting rods 44 which in turn pivotally connect at 45 with the levers at a locations intermediate the distal pivots.

The cylinders 43 are preferably pivotally mounted at 46 on brackets 47 carried by the car structure and provided withair apertures at opposite ends as seen at 48 and 49 for connection with a conventional arrangement of air piping and controls (not shown).

Angular opening movement of the radial arms and linkages is limited by the pintles 38 which are arranged to make contact with the links when the doors are fully opened and thus position the extensions 35 for receiving direct axial pressure from the axially movable connections 37.

The operation of the mechanisms is as follows: Assuming the doors in closed position as viewed in the right hand part of FIG. 1, it will be seen that admission of air in aperture 48 of the cylinder 43 will force operating rod 44 outwardly to swing the lever 40 along with the axially movable connection 37 and by reason of the turning moment 50 on the shaft release the toggle lock and force the doors open. The extent of lever movement is preferably of sufficient extent to act on the doors throughout the entire range of door movement thus assuring complete opening of the doors even with frozen or heavily compacted lading.

Although the extent of door opening shown in the left hand half of FIG. 1 is the expected condition which prevails under the influence of discharging lading it is to be understood that the balanced mounting of the doors tends to return them towards closed position therefore upon reverse movement of the connections to close the doors it will be appreciated that the initial closing movement will be assisted by the gravitational swing of the doors towards closed position.

The force exerted on the bell crank extensions 35 operates to first close the inner doors 19 to abut the marginal edge of the end walls 15 whereupon the outer door 20 is toggled to closed position with the swinging end underlying the other door as seen in the right hand part of FIG. 1.

Iclaim: 6. power transmitting means acting on said bell crank In a pp havmg an openmg for discharge of ladmg v lever extension of the arm means for imparting a moveand pivotally mounted oppositely swingable doors for the ment ofrotation to the arm means comprising: opening a movable to closed position in mating relation, in

a. a depending lever pivotally mounted on the car above the level of the bell crank lever and distally therefrom and combination: 5 a. overcenter toggle locking mechanism for moving the doors and retaining said doors in closed position comprismg: b. connecting means between the depending lever and l. a rotatable shaft carried by one of the doors, the bell crank extension and r1dialarm mea"5 onmtatably carried y the Shaft, c. a double acting fluid actuated pressure transmitting 3. linkage pivotally connected at one end to the radial means mounted on the and acting on Said arm means and at the opposite end pivotally connected to the companion door, 4. said linkage and arm means being foldable to an overpending lever for moving the said lever in directions to open or close the doors by rotation of the radial center toggle locked position to assume a substantially means' h i position 2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivotal 5. id di l arm means i h the mechanism in over connection between the bell crank and connecting means acts ter t gl l k d i i presenting an dl on the linkage to limit angular movement of the toggle memand outwardly projecting extension forming with the bel's when the dOOrS re n pen position. radial arm means a bell crank lever, 

